Return to Caduceus
by Lucarioblaze
Summary: Derek looks to this day off with great things in mind. But that doesn’t stop everyone else from ruining it! From prank calls to dodging away from Blackwell at the mall, Derek regrets ever choosing today to take a break.
1. Prologue

I am _so sorry_ about my delays to everyone. I am buried in snow and homework. I am making progress. Just give me some time. I've taken a lot of time already, but hey, that's life.  
This is meant for readers in the Starfox Community, if they read Trauma Center too. So, TC fans, ignore my previous words, and get ready for Return to Caduceus!

Return to Caduceus  
Prologue

Derek awoke from his cot, and blinked the sleep from his eyes. He quickly got out of bed, washed up, changed into his normal attire, and headed down a few floors before reaching his unit. Leslie and Tyler were already down, waiting for Derek.

"Hey, Dr. Stiles, guess what day it is today?" Leslie quizzed. Derek sighed.

"Well, today's a Saturday and-"

"No! Today is your day off!" Leslie squealed lightheartedly. Derek's face lit up.

"So that means-"

"Yup, Angie's got a day off too. Hey, Dr. Chase, just look at Dr. Stiles' face!" Leslie giggled. Tyler smirked.

"So, what're your plans for today, Doctor?" Tyler glanced at Leslie, and they both started laughing. Derek narrowed his eyes at his colleagues.

"I plan on-"

"Hey Derek!" Derek whipped around to see Angie.

She was out of uniform, which he saw very rarely, and she was wearing a black cami with a denim coat without sleeves, which went down to her hip. She wore cobalt blue skinny jeans, and black shoes. Derek was gawking at her a bit, before Angie spoke up.

"Err...Derek...?" Angie trailed off with a confused expression. Derek shook his head, quickly removing all previous thoughts from his mind and looking at Angie.

"H-Hi Angie." Derek managed to start, but he quickly brushed past Angie and handed back upstairs glumly to change.

Leslie and Tyler watched Derek trudge up the stairs, and Angie had a mixed expression.

"I hope you two didn't give him some chemical from Victor's lab that makes him mood-swing." Angie looked at the two doctors, who exchanged nervous glances and laughed.

"No I think it was just you." Tyler started, but stopped when Angie took a threatening step forward towards him, gritting her teeth, and clenching her fists.

"Okay, okay, you win...!" Tyler backed up, holding his hands up in defense. Angie released her fists, and lowered her gaze.

"Don't ruin this for me, Chase."

"I won't. Or I'll try not to." Tyler jokingly teased. Angie smirked and proceeded towards the stairs to wait for Derek. A few minutes passed, and Derek hurried down the stairs wearing a light blue, long-sleeved collared shirt. Along with that, he wore black long pants and classy black shoes.

"And you call that _casual_?" Tyler stifled a laugh, but his expression turned neutral when Derek's turned serious.

"Got a problem-?"

"Derek, let's go, before you blow your top off dealing with _these_ two." Angie turned her innocent face to Derek, and he cooled down.

"Hm. Okay." Derek turned to Angie and smiled warmly. They both proceeded to the huge automatic doors that led out of Caduceus, and somehow, Derek knew that this day would go smoothly, without any interruptions or distractions between him and Angie.

Or so he thought.


	2. Familiar Faces

Chapter 1

Familiar Faces

Derek called a taxi, and Angie asked the driver to head for the Angeles Bay Mall. Once the couple arrived, Derek paid for the service, and they stepped outside to examine the mall. Derek looked a bit shocked.

"Hey, Angie, to tell you the truth, I've never actually, uh..." Derek trailed off.

"Hmm?" Angie asked.

"Err...well, ah, two things. One, I've never really done much shopping here...and, uhm...I've...never, er, w-"

"Went on a date?" Angie inquired.

"Err, yeah, that." Derek ever so slightly blushed, which made Angie laugh a bit.

"That's okay Derek, neither have I. So, let's have fun while we have the time." Angie chimed. Derek paused and reinforced his thought about how great the day would be, just spending time with Angie, and-

"Derek! Run!" Angie quickly snapped Derek out of his fantasy.

"Eh?" Derek was clueless.

"Follow me! Hurry!" Angie frantically glanced around, and Derek was thinking of what to say next.

"But, why-" Derek's sentence was cut off as Angie dashed off into the mob of people.

Derek tore after her, dodging and weaving through dozens of people. After what seemed like an eternally long time, Angie finally stopped to catch her breath. Derek skidded to a stop beside her, panting heavily.

"You don't exercise much, do you?" Angie questioned with a teasing smile.

"I...think...you can answer that...yourself..." Derek puffed. After about a minute, Derek recovered from his fatigue.

"Why did you tell me to run?" Derek asked, bewildered. A pang of realization hit Angie.

"Oh, sorry for not telling you, I was too worried. Well, I saw my dad-"

"_That_ was why you ran??" Derek couldn't believe himself.

Angie had ran halfway across the mall _just_ to escape sight of Professor Blackwell? It seemed like a good enough reason for Angie.

"Well, if my dad had caught me with you, then he would begin with transferring me to a hospital on the other side of the country, just to start." Angie replied matter-of-factly.

"Does your dad hate me?"

"Err, you could say...!" Angie trailed off shyly.

"Well, at least we're in! Where to start...?" Angie asked out loud, while Derek gagged at Angie. Angie looked over Derek and saw his expression, and Angie's eyes with with sorrow.

"Sorry to bring your hopes down about appealing to Father, Derek...I didn't-"

"That's okay Angie. I'm sure you could convince him that I'm _perfect_." Derek sarcastically stated proudly, and Angie giggled. After that, they went around the mall shopping, most of the purchased items clothing for Angie, and Derek having to carry all of the bags, a very hard-to-accomplish job.

"Whew! After all this buying, I'm going to need a salary raise." Derek fantasized as the couple sat themselves in a food court.

"For something as grand as that after getting a full day off, you would need to work double overtime on night shifts." Angie remarked enthusiastically. The two laughed and had lunch at a café and chatted.

At the hospital, Tyler and Leslie were bored out of their mind and had practically no patients to care for, and the few patients there were, were all stable.

"Let's go check out if any messages were left for us while we were waiting to help someone." Tyler started, desperate for something to do.

"Sure, at least it's better than sitting around like this." Leslie replied. As the two walked briskly down the halls, the sound of their shoes echoed through the empty hallways.

"Gee, I bet Dr. Stiles and Angie are having the time of their life." Tyler thought out loud. Leslie pondered over Tyler's words.

"I guess you're right." As they neared the phone, the light was blinking, signaling that there was a message. Tyler's action-hungry darted towards the blinking phone, and he wildly dove to it first before Leslie caught view of the light.

"Yess! A message! One message! Okay, stay quiet while I listen." Tyler spoke, and Leslie obeyed by not replying.

"_Hello, this is Adel Tulba, a former apprentice at Caduceus. I've already handed all my needed papers in to rejoin, but I just want to remind you that I will be arriving at around 2:00 today. Thank you for allowing me to rejoin the wonderful community at Caduceus, and I can't wait to continue helping save patients' lives as a certified surgeon. I can't wait to see Dr. Stiles!_"

Tyler was awestruck after the message ended, his eyes staring off into space.

"Who was it from?" Leslie questioned.

"See for yourself." Tyler blankly replied. Leslie listened to the message and gawked.

"Adel's coming back? _Today_?!" Leslie looked at a digital clock on the wall. It read 1:30. Tyler and Leslie both looked at each other with horrified looks. They both ran to Victor's bedroom, a few floors up, where he was researching and reviewing previous works. He growled as they walked in.

"We hope you don't mind, Victor." Tyler spoke.

"Of course I mind, but...what do you two want!?" Victor snapped. The two looked at each other, and then started talking extremely fast, so fast that Victor found both of them incomprehensible and annoying. He cleared his throat.

"Quiet!" Victor shouted over them. They were instantly muted.

"One...at a time, _please_." Victor snarled.

"Well, we're pretty sure you know that Adel's coming to Caduceus, right?" Tyler started.

"Yess, I have his papers."

"And you _do_ know that he's arriving in half an hour, right?" Leslie continued. Victor frowned more than usual.

"No, but keep going." Victor at least seemed somewhat into the conversation.

"So...what should we do?" Tyler asked. Victor's frown turned into a gritting teeth.

"Well...you could _wait_ for him, that would be a smart thing for you two to _do_." Victor spoke through his clenched teeth.

"But he said-"

"I'm guessing he said he wants to see Dr. Stiles. Correct?"

"Yes. Exactly." Tyler responded. Victor sighed.

"Just call him. I won't tell you what to say," Victor paused to grin naughtily,

"Because I'll leave that up to the _jokers_ here." Victor ended bitingly. Tyler and Leslie nodded, accepting their duty as the Caduceus pranksters, and they proceeded downstairs.

"I've got it." Tyler said as he reached for the phone. Leslie made a motion with her hand saying to continue.

"Just watch and learn. And laugh." Tyler swiftly went on the computer beside the phone before calling, and opened up an audio file.

It was labeled, "abulence_", and he readied the "play" button for the moment.

Derek and Angie were still chatting when Derek's cell phone rang.

"Grr...if this is Caduceus, I'm ninety percent sure it's a prank." Derek muttered grouchily before he flipped the phone open. He could hear a wailing noise, like sirens, in the background.

"Derek! Help! Neo-GUILT! Building...gases...Delphi...everyone...save us-" The phone cut off. Derek instantly stood from his seat.

"Angie! All of Caduceus has been flooded with Neo-GUILT gases from Delphi! We've got to save them!" Derek ran to the nearest exit, not taking the bags, with Angie running beside him.

"What a great day to take a day off..." Angie's voice was filled with uneasiness.

"Ha! They fell for it! Hahaha! I don't believe it! Haha!" Tyler and Leslie were laughing after they had hung up. Leslie's stomach ached, and Tyler was laughing so hard, he was crying.

"Ahaha...hahaha! Wait wait, wouldn't it be hal-_larious_ if we were like, unconscious on the ground-"

"You guys pull it off?" Victor was downstairs, smoldering a laugh.

"Of course we did." Tyler responded matter-of-factly.

"What was it this time?"

"Neo-GUILT."

"A wise choice."

"We have to look completely normal when they arrive, because Adel's gonna come any minute now. Derek and Angie are going to be the one's out of it."

"Oh look, here they come. Act natural. Victor, sit there and work on research."

"Yeah yeah, I hear ya." With that, Victor promptly took a seat on the rotating chair and began typing fast, swiftly opening up multiple tabs related to his current project. Tyler and Leslie started to talk of the states of health the current patients were in, and whether or not they needed an extra surgery. Derek and Angie came bursting through the doors, looking around for people on the ground, instead to find people performing their normal duties. Derek was at a loss for words.

"Are...are you guys alright? Is the Neo-GUILT dormant? Or active...?" Derek gave an odd expression to everyone. Tyler and Leslie couldn't control themselves any longer. They burst out in laughter, and Victor smirked at the jokers and hopelessly shrugged at the confused couple. At first, Derek was in puzzlement, but just as fast as they got to Caduceus, Derek's emotions converted to fury.

"You pranksters! That was a joke, wasn't it?! You just tricked us into coming here to-"

"Actually, no, wait, ...never mind." Victor observed the situation going on. Tyler and Leslie were still laughing, Derek was in flames, and Angie was ticked and wanted an explanation. Victor glanced outside as a taxi pulled up, and a certain surgeon came bursting through the doors.

"Dr. Stiles!!"

* * *

Now, wasn't that refreshing? I hope everyone likes it! ^^ It's great to write Trauma Center fanfics, isn't it? Don'tcha feel great? Whatever, 'cause I do. Keep reading!  
By the way, I love reviews. =3


	3. Memories of the Past

Chapter 2

Memories of the Past

Adel came running up to Derek, and hugged him tightly. Derek was totally baffled, even more so than before.

"It's so good to see you! I missed you so much!" Adel exclaimed cheerfully.

"W...What are you doing here?" Derek asked, shocked at Adel's sudden "unexpected" presence.

"Huh? Didn't you get the message?"

"Whatmessage?" Derek blurted. He instantly thought of Tyler and Leslie.

"Oh well, I'll explain again later." Adel stated. He was still holding onto Derek. He immediately threw himself off of Derek.

"I...I'm so sorry! I'm just so used to the traditional greeting in Costigar..." Adel shyly admitted.

"That's alright. You're still accommodating to American customs, since you haven't been here in a while. When did you fly in?"

"Just an hour ago. Didn't Mr. Niguel show you the flight times? Oh, I forgot, he must have been very busy with his work..." Derek narrowed his eyes at the threesome.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Adel."

"Huh?"

"Ah, never mind. So, you start work today?"

"No, tomorrow, Dr. Stiles. I'm sorry, I would've started today, but I have to get settled into this environment once again. Now you'll be one short a worker today...I feel so ashamed..." Adel concluded dismally. Tyler smirked.

"No, today we're short two surgeons, including you, and one nurse." Adel was at a loss.

"Who's not working today, Dr. Chase?" Derek glared at Tyler, almost daring him to say, but Tyler kept smiling and continued, stifling a laugh.

"Well, Dr. Stiles and Angie have a day off today, Adel." Tyler explained to Adel, as if he was a child. Adel turned around to look at Derek with an expression of wonder.

"_You_, Dr. Stiles, took a _day off_?" Adel stared at Derek like a child. It hurt and made Derek feel guilty to tell Adel the truth.

"Well...Dr. _Chase_ is right. Angie and I have a day off today." Derek felt the words choke up in his throat.

"Hmm..." Adel started.

"Can all of us spend the day together? I won't have anything to do after I unpack, not to mention I'll be quite bored, so why not we all enjoy a free day together?" Adel inquired innocently, and Angie's eyes flashed and narrowed on the young surgeon.

"Absolutely n-"

"Sure! That would be great! Right, _Angie_?" Derek smiled ever so fakely as he instantly placed his arm around Angie to silence her. Despite Derek, a gloomy aura emitted out of Angie.

"Tch..." She muttered.

"Oh, it'll be fantastic! I cannot wait! Just let me go unpack-" Adel was too excited and upbeat to talk any longer as he dashed off upstairs, luggage flying behind him.

Once he left, Angie furiously turned to Derek, her eyes flashing with anger, like lightning. Derek rubbed his eyes, but he was sure he could see a storm behind her.

"Why'd you let _him_ come?!! I thought this was_ our_ time together. Even Dr. Chase and Leslie would've been a better alternative than Adel coming-"

"Can we?" Leslie cut off. Derek and Angie spoke the same response-

"No!" There was a second of complete silence.

"...and you let _Adel_ come along?! What is _with_ you?!" Angie fumed once again. Derek could feel scorching sparks coming out of Angie, and he backed up half a step.

"If I said no, just _imagine_ all the things that could go wrong. Remember _last_ time I made Adel upset?" Derek thought back to that fateful day, when he didn't, no, couldn't use the Healing Touch to save Adel, and the consequences that came after at the Hands of Asclepius.

"Tch. You've come, Dr. Stiles. President Mercer...he isn't here. He's...looking for something..."

"Adel, the Hands of Asclepius has been ordered to cease all of its operations. And...I'd also like to make sure you get examined." Derek stated.

"Dr. Tulba, there's a possibility that you've been infected with a new type of GUILT." Professor Blackwell added.

"...There's something I need to say to you, Dr. Stiles." "What is it, Adel?"

"It wasn't fair. I was born and raised in Costigar, where every day was a struggle to survive. I did everything in my power to become a doctor...but my skills were nothing compared to yours." Adel's expression was still serious, but it had a hint of grief.

"Adel, it's not a contest. There's no point in comparing us."

"You don't understand! That _why_ I joined the Hands of Asclepius! My Healing Touch may be artificial...but so what?! Is that so wrong?!"

"Dr. Tulba, don't you realize how dangerous the new GUILT is?" Angie told.

"You see, Dr. Stiles...President Mercer gave me what I wanted... he shared with me his secret."

"What is he talking about...?" Angie trailed off. Adel's eyes flashed wide, and he was grinning.

"...Neo-GUILT. The great silence- Sige- has changed me... I am a new creation!" Derek, Professor Blackwell, and Angie took a terrified step backwards.

"He's lost it!" Derek yelled.

"No, _Derek_, it's the GUILT! It's affecting his mind! Be careful, who knows what he'll do next!" Professor Blackwell warned.

"Dr. Stiiiles...do you know what else the 'Healing' Touch is good for...? It's also good for...KILLING!" Adel shrieked manically, and picked up a scalpel. He pointed it at Derek, and snickered feverishly.

"Stop it, Adel! We're doctors, not murderers!" Derek tried to snap Adel out of his trance.

"HAHAHAHA! Ha...ha...? ...Haaa!" Adel swiftly moved the scalpel in that dreaded star motion, and the blow hit Derek with full force. Angie's eyes filled with fear. She gasped.

"Dr. Stiles!"

Derek clutched his side, almost feeling the pain as if it had happened in the present. Angie was still in thought about the day when Adel's Neo-GUILT, Sige, became active.

"Oh..." Angie concluded, looking somewhat horrified.

"Exactly. That's why I'm letting him come along. I mean, really, what could possibly go wrong?"

"Don't _say_ that! _Anything_ could go wrong. Why are you so oblivious to these kinds of events?" Angie cried. Derek was about to continue, when Adel came rushing down the stairs, in a smart teal and white striped collared shirt, contrary to his usual green and yellow shirt. With that, he wore cotton black pants and white sneakers.

"Okay, let's go, Dr. Stiles! Oh, and Nurse Thompson, too." Adel just barely added, and Angie gave Adel a fierce look. They waved goodbye to their three colleagues, and headed out. Tyler and Leslie smirked at how lucky their luck was.

"Hey, at least we don't have to deal with Adel. They're stuck with him..." Tyler snickered. Everyone else held in their laughs. Derek called a taxi.

"What a day _this_ turned out to be," Derek thought. "First, we flee from Professor Blackwell, then we scramble back to Caduceus, and _now_ we take Adel on our date? What _more_ could go wrong?" Derek frowned as everyone boarded a taxi, and they rode back to Angeles Bay Mall.

Frankly, to Derek, nothing more could possibly go wrong.

* * *

  
Ahh, Adel... My favorite character. If there's any character that makes me laugh the most, it's Adel. Around, err, about forty percent of the time I'm making TC jokes, it's about Adel.  
Second is Derek in TC:SO. So, don't be sad, all you joksters out there, we are much alike.  
Hope ya liked this chappie!


	4. Another Trouble

Chapter 3

Another Trouble

At the Angeles Bay Mall, Adel couldn't stand still. He would be lightly jumping on his feet at any given time. Adel really wanted to buy something. Well, not really buy anything, just looking around would be fine. No, not even that, just doing _anything_ with Dr. Stiles made Adel hyper with energy.

"Oh goodie, where should we go first?" Adel's eyes twinkled with delight. Angie groaned.

"Derek, _you_ take the honor." Angie rolled her eyes, placed her hands on her hips, and turned away from the two male surgeons. Derek cleared his throat.

"Well...let's start-"

"Ooh! Over there!" Adel ran over to a store filled with pottery and glass statues.

Derek's eyes widened, and he ran after Adel with the bags that he had recovered from security, because the couple had left their bags unattended to when they ran to Caduceus for the prank call. Angie paced towards to to-be disaster site, as Derek saved every expensive object (which was all of them) that Adel had a somewhat potential to drop. Angie smirked as Adel stopped to thoroughly look over a small glass lion, and Derek was in an awkward position from twirling around the store to prevent the statues and vases from breaking.

Derek hurriedly placed the objects back in their place, just as Adel zoomed out of the store, and into another store, with even _more_ expensive items. Derek lagged behind Adel.

"Wait...up, Adel..." Derek called hopelessly. Angie strolled behind him, letting him be the guardian of Adel, knowing that she would _only_ help when Derek needed serious help. To Derek, he needed that help the _whole time_. They ran around the mall, and by the time Adel had lost his near infinite amount of adrenaline, Derek was sweating, and his chest heaved heavily. Angie, not caring, wasn't affected by the running whatsoever.

"Why...why don't we all take a break, right Adel?" Derek looked to Adel in despair, hoping he would agree.

"Of course Adel would agree," Derek thought to himself, clamping his mouth shut while fake smiling.

"Alright, Dr. Stiles!" Adel was bursting with energy all over again, this time, with a little less energy than before. Adel was just about to take off again, but Derek caught his left arm and Adel jerked backwards.

"What is it, Dr. Stiles?" Adel asked cutely, not caring about Derek's tight grip around his arm.

"How about _I_ choose where we should take a break?" Derek quizzed, with a questioning look on his face.

"Okay! Anything is fine, Dr. Stiles!" Adel replied willingly, with a smile. Derek looked around thoughtfully at the small restaurants and snack shops dotted all over the food court area. He narrowed his eyes at a coffee shop.

"How about over there? That fine, Angie?" Derek asked her with a warm and affectionate smile.

"Yeah." She replied coldly, but there was a hint of consideration in her voice.

Derek started over, and Adel took note of Derek's change in behavior.

"Why did he act differently with me compared to Nurse Thompson?" Adel thought with curiosity.

"Maybe Nurse Thompson knows Dr. Stiles better than I do," Adel answered himself, and Derek placed the bags down at a table, and proceeded towards the counter, where orders were being taken.

"I'd like to order one coffee, no c-cream or sugar, and, uh," Derek stammered, and turned towards Angie.

She continued, "One more coffee with cream and sugar," she paused to quickly look over Derek briefly, "and also-"

"One green tea, please." Adel finished, his expression blank. Derek was somewhat taken aback by Adel's sudden personality change, but he was more worried about the black coffee. Derek once overheard Tyler and Leslie after he had finished an operation while they took a coffee break in the hospital. Tyler had placed three bags of sugar in his coffee.

"C'mon Dr. Chase, why're you being so girly? Be a man for once."

"Heyy, I like sweet things. Sweet coffee, sweet girls, sweet anything."

"You're _such_ a tease. Though, it's kinda sad really. No one in Caduceus drinks black coffee. Ah well, now we know why the other hospitals get more patients."

"Hey! That's not true!"

"I bet you, if Dr. Stiles started drinking black coffee, not only would Caduceus' patients increase, but the whole nation's coffee business would skyrocket."

"True, but Derek's too much of a softie to go without his cream and sugar."

"Yeah..." Leslie had finished.

Derek snapped out of his thought, as Angie locked into his arm and was dragged back to the table, where Adel was already sitting unquestioningly.

"Here's your black coffee, dreamer." Angie playfully teased as she handed Derek the dreaded beverage. Adel made no comment on what he had just seen, he just stared vacantly off into the distance, seeming to be in deep thought. Derek's stomach fluttered at the thought of Sige and Adel, so he decided to strike up a conversation.

"Adel..." Derek waved his hand in front of Adel's face, and he jolted out of his trance.

"Y-Yes Dr. Stiles?" Adel looked very surprised.

"No, nothing, just wanted to see if you were okay." Derek optimistically replied. Adel blinked, and picked up his foam cup, now half full, and brought it to his lips.

"I'm fine, Dr. Stiles." Adel answered, taking a sip of his drink.

There was a long pause between the three, only chatter from other tables and the mall in general, filling the silence. Adel looked up from his cup.

"Can I choose where to go next?" Adel inquired, the light capturing different shades of his dark red, almost brown eyes, flashing with fervor. Derek was hesitant.

"Uhh...sure, Adel." Derek responded. Angie looked to Adel with suspicion.

"Wasn't Adel choosing all of the stores before? Why so important now? Derek didn't have much of a choice anyways, because of his past experience with Neo-GUILT." Angie analyzed to herself.

After they all finished their beverages, Adel, without delay, scanned through every store in his sight range, and carefully thought out his decision. Angie tapped her foot edgily, while Derek waited tolerantly. Adel's eyes lit up, and he turned to the direction that the store was in.

"Over there!" Adel pointed to a clothing store, and dashed away. Derek, still trying to get the awful taste of black coffee off his tongue, ran after Adel with regained energy. But this time, Angie nervously trailed behind the two male surgeons. Adel had jumped into the store, and was blazing around the clothes racks.

Derek didn't worry as much, since they weren't in a store with glass, or anything that could break, so he put his hands behind his head and watched Adel composedly. Angie strolled up behind him, hands behind her back, and lightly bumped her shoulder to his back.

"Easier to control, huh?"

"Yeah." Derek replied evenly. But, out of the corner of his eye, namely his right eye, he glimpsed a rather tall man, with onyx-colored hair, and gasped. He suddenly grabbed Angie by her shoulders. "Hide. Blackwell. Here. Now." Angie was about to start talking, when Derek cut her breath short and pushed her into a clothes rack, blending her in with the rest of the picture.

Professor Blackwell caught Derek's eye and glared, and proceeded nonchalantly towards him. His shadowy eyes flashed with displeasure, and he strolled right up to Derek.

"It's good to see you, _Derek_." Derek winced as Blackwell said his name. He swallowed hard.

"N-Nice to see you too, Professor." Derek tried to end the conversation, when Adel sprinted up behind Derek and gripped both of his shoulders playfully. Derek flinched with Adel's grasp.

"Dr. Stiles! Where should we go next??" Adel's expression changed as he looked around for Angie.

"Where, did Nurse Thompson go?" Adel questioned innocently innocently as he glanced around charmingly. Blackwell narrowed his eyes at Derek, and Derek broke a sweat.

"Angie is here?" Blackwell leaned his head in towards Derek expressionlessly, but Derek knew he was prying. Derek took a shuttering breath.

"Well, uh, y'know, I kinda happened to _see_ her," Derek stiffened as Blackwell's gaze burned into him.

"And, umm, we stopped for a while, and, uh, talked, uh...and we just, err, went our ways." Derek released a small, inaudible sigh, as Blackwell loosened his gaze.

"I heard you've got a new surgeon. Is he tough enough for Caduceus?" Blackwell raised an eyebrow as Derek and Adel looked nervously at each other.

"Well..." Blackwell's eyes fell on Adel, who was now peeking out behind Derek, still clutching his shoulders. Blackwell's eyes filled with attention.

"And who is this?" Adel instantly bounded out from behind Derek and waved eagerly.

"Hello!" He grinned.

"I'm Adel!" Blackwell threw Derek an amused look.

"_This_, is your new surgeon?"

"Yep!" Derek dared to be cheerful, and Blackwell sighed.

"Well, I'll be seeing you off, Derek. And, goodbye to you as well, umm, Doctor...?" Blackwell trailed off, looking at Adel. Adel grinned merrily.

"Dr. Tulba!"

"Yes, Dr. Tulba. I hope you enjoy your time working as a surgeon at Caduceus." Blackwell took one last look and the two male surgeons, and stared at the exact hiding place of Angie. Derek held his breath, and Adel looked confused. Blackwell halfheartedly turned away and started walking off, out of the store. After Blackwell was in a 100-yard distance from Angie's location, Derek pulled her out in delight, though somewhat glum.

"Well, he's...gone." Adel jumped away from Derek in surprise and gasped.

"Nurse Thompson was _there_? I didn't see her!" Derek bit back his remark. _You weren't supposed to, Adel. That was the point._ But he ignored the pain.

"Well, look at the time, I think we should all head back to Caduceus." Derek started walking away with the now unhidden bags, with the nurse and surgeon following. They called a cab, and headed back to Caduceus. Derek looked behind in the passenger seats at Angie and Adel.

"Today wasn't such a bad day," Derek thought. "There's nothing to bad that happened, right? I mean, the worst of today has come to an end, so-" Derek's cellphone rang.

His eyes widened and he grabbed his pant pocket. The caller ID read, "Tyler Chase". His eyes narrowed with suspicion. He flipped his phone open.

"Yeah?"

"Derek, we need you back, pronto. A patient has been diagnosed with an unknown disease. It may be GUILT-related."

"How do I know-?"

"Derek, man, I'm _dead_ serious." Derek shivered, thinking about Tyler's past, and the word 'dead'. _Euthanasia_.

"Get back here ASAP. See ya." Derek hung up, and blinked rapidly.

"Hey, we've got an emergency patient. Step on it!" The driver jerked the car forward, and the threesome sped off to Caduceus. Derek hoped with all his heart that there was a misdiagnosis.


	5. An Ending Surprise

Chapter 4

An Ending Surprise

The threesome dashed inside the building. Derek dropped the shopping bags and quickened his pace to the E.R.. Tyler was waiting outside the E.R..

"Sweet, glad you could make it. The patient was just transferred over here, 'cause those other dudes couldn't 'recognize' the disease. Tch, ya mean treat? But hey, at least she's not DOA, y'know?" Tyler briefed. Derek slightly tilted his head.

"Who is this patient?"

"Dunno, but Victor sure as h-ll does. Apparently someone who used to work here...oh man, you should've seen his face when they called in! He was like, hyperventilating. Well, not really, but he was spazzing out, right Les?"

"That's right!" She called from down the hallway. Derek was at a loss. Who-?

"Derek- err, Dr. Stiles! Get the f-ck in here! We're starting!" Victor's voice was harsher and rougher than before. Derek stumbled into the O.R., and saw Victor giving him a glare. Derek knew to get defensive when Victor's head was hot. Derek proceeded onward. A young woman with short-cut brown hair was lying on the operating table.

It all came back.

Heather Ross! Emilio's nurse! Derek's recognition watered down when he saw Victor holding her hand.

When did he get permission to-?

"I know it looks, err, out of the ordinary, uh, _me_, but," Victor cleared his throat. Complete silence.

"We're, sorta, erm, _dating_." Victor was blushing. Blushing?! Derek pulled off his glasses and cleaned them. Victor was not only blushing. He was dating one of the cutest nurses that ever worked at Caduceus. Derek had so many questions, where to start-

Tyler burst through the doors of the E.R..

"Dude! When did _that_ happen?!" Tyler was gawking.

"And I thought you'd be the last man on earth to get a girl! I'm very impressed, Victor. Wise choice. Though, I dunno about Heather's opinion on you in this relation..." Tyler squinted his eyes, thinking. Leslie peeked in through the doors, but was shoved out of the way when Adel came running in.

"May I watch the operation, Dr. Stiles?" Derek sighed.

"Tyler, Leslie, and Victor, get out-"

"No!"

"...Adel, you can watch, just _stay_ quiet-"

"Unless you've got any helpful advice." Victor objected.

Derek rolled his eyes.

Where had the world come to, the past hours of daylight? He wouldn't be surprised if Emilio came back to life today, though he was pretty sure that would be the last of it.

"Alright Angie, go for the briefing."

"Well, we're going to be operating on her stomach. But..." Angie trailed off nervously.

"But what?"

"Her stomach was the organ where that mutated Kyriaki began to multiply at the Elysium breakout. Remember?" Derek's body felt stiff and cold.

What if a new leader had risen from the ranks and taken over Delphi? Derek couldn't imagine anymore of his friends, colleagues, patients, suffering, because of GUILT.

"Good catching that. Let's keep it in mind." Derek swiftly grabbed the scalpel and made the cut. The organ was dark.

Toxicosis!

Derek knew what Heather was suffering from- PGS. Derek injected the black sedative, and tumors formed. Derek cursed and drained the cytoplasm from the tumors, and excised all of them.

"Angie, this is PGS. Victor, we need more of the black sedative. Go get it." Victor didn't move. He was staring into Heather's closed eyes.

"Victor, go get the black-"

"I'll get it, Dr. Stiles." Angie rushed off before Derek could reply. He growled.

"Victor! Gimme a hand!"

"I'm _comforting_ her."

"She's unconscious, Victor!"

"Help yourself! You're the great Dr. Stiles! Do something about it!" Derek was traumatized. Victor had never said any of those things to him before!

Derek gritted his teeth.

"B-st-rd." Adel didn't seem to be affected by any of this conversation. He was intensely waiting for Derek's next move. Derek continued to operate until Angie arrived with the sedative.

"Thank you for your _kind and thoughtful help_, Angie." Derek glared at Victor while injecting the black liquid. Victor had no reaction.

"Vitals are stable, Doctor."

"Alright, Angie." Derek sutured the incision, disinfected the area, and applied the bandage.

"That was amaazing, Dr. Stiles! It was another job well done-"

"Adel, thanks, but no thanks."

"...Sorry, Dr. Stiles..." Derek sighed, accepting the apology.

"Making rounds to check on some patients. Have fun waiting for her to wake up, _Victor_." Victor narrowed his eyes at Derek and growled. Adel followed Derek out of the O.R..

"So, what now, Dr. Stiles?" Derek was thankful his remark didn't get to Adel. Derek placed his hand on his forehead.

"Do whatever you want. Just don't bother Victor, don't be noisy, and _don't_, join the Hands of Asclepius." Adel beamed.

"Got it!" He dashed upstairs to his room, and Derek trudged up the stairs to his. Angie grabbed his arm.

"Long day, huh?"

"You could say that again. Today was the worst day off ever. We've got two more people to worry about-"

"Two? Heather's our only patient today, Doctor."

"What I mean is Heather, and Adel."

"Ohh..."

"And Victor's guarding Heather like a hawk. What about his research? I don't want him spending every moment with her."

"..."

"What?"

"...Nothing. Just thinking."

"Well, _I_ think we will never take a day off ever again." Ever."

"That's a good idea." Angie smirked. Derek jokingly rolled his eyes, and the two started making rounds. Derek thought that today was the worst day in his life.

Maybe not so much.

* * *

Yay! The ending! Everyone's happy (I think!)! Oh, by the way, if you didn't know this, DOA is _medical/surgical slang_ for **D**ead **o**n **A**rrival.  
And yes, I DO SUPPORT HeatherxVictor. It's delish. But it's my pairing. I'm pretty sure I'm the first one to think of it (pretty sure...), so credit me if you're usin' it. And if you came up with it before me, then, pardon me, fellow writer, I'll be sure to credit you! Hope you liked Return to Caduceus!


End file.
